Publication decisionsThe editor of the journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journalshould be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair playAn editor will at any time evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard torace, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

ConfidentialityThe editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submittedmanuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interestUnpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's ownresearch without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial DecisionsPeer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorialcommunications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

PromptnessAny selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript orknows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

ConfidentialityAny manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must notbe shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of ObjectivityReviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of SourcesReviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Anystatement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of InterestPrivileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and notused for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Duties of Authors

Reporting standardsAuthors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performedas well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and RetentionAuthors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, andshould be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and PlagiarismThe authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors haveused the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent PublicationAn author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research inmore than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgement of SourcesProper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should citepublications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the PaperAuthorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to theconception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of InterestAll authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict ofinterest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published worksWhen an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it isthe author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

*Our ethic statements are based on COPE's Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

usedforpersonaladvantage.Reviewersshouldnotconsidermanuscriptsinwhichthey have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with anyofthe authors, companies, orinstitutions connected to thepapers.